Get Rid of Bed Bugs and Get a Good Sleep
Introduction
Bed Bugs are parasitic nocturnal insect pests. They probably got their name due to their close proximity to the human bed. Bed Bugs are wingless, oval in shape with a flat and broad body measuring about 4-6mm. Young ones are called nymphs and are yellowish white in color, similar to the adults but smaller in size.
Bed Bugs become active at night to get a blood meal by piercing the exposed skin. They feed for a few minutes(approximately 5 to 10) and then hide to digest the blood and lay eggs. Bed Bugs swell slightly after feeding and become dark red in color.
Bed Bugs can survive for several months without food. Once fed, adults can live longer than nymphs without blood meal and their survival can last up to a year.
Bed Bugs have not been known to transmit disease but their bites may cause an allergic reaction in some people. An itchy raised bump, welt etc. may be found on the skin of a person allergic to a Bed Bug bite. Swelling from a Bed Bug bite may extend beyond the immediate bite area but there will be no red spot which is a characteristic of a flea bite.
Mostly found hiding along mattress seams, box springs and bed frames, Bed Bugs can also get access to other areas e.g., wall hangings, dressers , photo frames, behind baseboards, luggage and cracks and crevices in furniture.
Bed Bug Treatment Options
a) Pesticide Spray Treatment
Bed Bug treatment involves an intensive care and protocol both for the home owner or business owner and pest control operator.
We strongly emphasize the need of a thorough preparation of the site according to our recommendations before the start of treatment. A detailed preparation sheet is provided to the client which explains all the key steps to do before treatment.
Bed Bug treatment involves 3 sprays in order to cover all the stages of Bed Bugs. Egg stage remains unaffected by the pesticide application, so a 2 week time interval is set in order to get the newly emerged nymphs from the eggs, treated ,that remained unaffected by first spray and the last or 3rd spray reinforces the residual effect and coverage of the pesticide for any spot or pest stage left untreated.
For a single family house, all the areas of the house are treated.
For multiple residential complexes or apartments, we recommend an inspection of the adjoining units, right, left, below and above the infested unit in order to rule out any possibility of transmission to these units and sometimes a preventative spray to these units really gives good results and limits the spread of the Bed Bugs.
b) Heat Treatment
Our heat treatment consists of a steam heat application to specific areas infested with bedbugs. The steam heat application kills all stages of bedbugs i.e., egg, nymph & adult.
A thorough inspection of the site being treated for bedbug infestation is done before the start of the heat treatment process in order to find out all the key areas infested with bedbugs.
We also incorporate pesticide application in our heat treatment that covers application of pesticide to the baseboards, cracks & crevices or any hard to reach spots after steam heat application that gives longer residual effect and control.
Our steam heat application followed by pesticide treatment to the baseboards, cracks & crevices or any hard to reach spots for heat is a superior IPM approach. Because if the treatment is the only thermal heat application, there will be no protection after heat treatment for any area or spot missed in your house , clothing , things kept in storage or in the basement. In such a situation, you will have an active infestation just after the thermal heat only application and most of the times you will be offered to get a free pesticide application from the pest control company. And after paying thousands of dollars for chemical free treatment you end up having a pesticide spray for the bed bugs.
Our steam heat treatment is a onetime guaranteed treatment provided our recommendations are followed. Within 2 to 4 weeks after treatment, we do a follow up inspection free of charge in order to see the level of infestation and effectiveness of the treatment.
Better preparation of the unit being treated for bedbug infestation yields desired results. We provide our customers with a preparation sheet for bedbug treatment and strongly recommend to follow the instructions in order to have an effective treatment.